


Our Town's Silver Lining

by NallaFoS



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, But not exactly, Did I mention 1920s?, Fan Characters, Other, and a whole bunch of dancing and getting drunk, it's like 1920s but with alcohol, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NallaFoS/pseuds/NallaFoS
Summary: There's swing and jazzy parties on every corner. The world is jiving and nothing's getting it down. Hat Kid isn't like most the kids playing outside in rags; she's working for the best team of private eyes in town! With every new case and every new suspect, Kid gets bored of the same-old, same-old. Everything changes when one of her new cases is her life-long friend being murdered. Kid fights that it isn't her best friend and that something is wrong which sends her boss, Detective Snatcher to pull her away from the case, seeing that she's being "over-emotional". Instead of obeying the word of her boss, she springs into action to find out who killed them and if anyone else is next on the hit list.





	1. April Showers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note to just say that this is indeed my first time writing something for a chapter-basis! I normally only dabble in short stories here and there and I will update whenever I can! Thank you so much for checking out this story/AU!

   Only the sound of a dripping drain pipe rang through the echoing alleyways of the chilly side-streets. There was a thick fog in the distance, as it normally would linger on hot nights as this one. The previous rainfall did nothing to help the temperature, only making the air more dense. In that monochrome night, there was a small figure. She held the brim of her hat down to cover her face from the faint sprinkle of leftover rain. Taps coming from the heels of her shoes was enough to break the silence and seemed to allure something to follow her. A misshapen shadow had lurked behind, making no sounds but a soft call. “Come here.” It asked, holding out its hand; it’s bones creaked like old cupboards, and the whisper grew louder with every moment the child ignored it. “COME HERE.” It snapped, having the little girl stop to look back. Before she even knew it, the arm stretched to grab her by the ankle. Struggling cries and calls for help didn’t work as she was pulled to the beast. With a strong grip, there was a sound of a piercing crunch.

~

 

 

_GASP!_ Kid rose from her sheets, gasping for breath. Her fragile azure eyes darted to each corner of her office, only seeing the filing cabinets and coat-hanger as it should of been. The rush in her blood and the sweat among her forehead was hot, making her sit up and run her fingers through her undone cocoa hair. A sigh and pop of the neck later, she jumped from the seat she slept on. Kid wasn’t like normal children running through the town with rags and caps selling newspapers. Her hands gently held the two ugly yellow files, both marked with a giant stamp, depicting a winking ghost. As she read through on of the case files, her eyes drooped with every spaced word. “Wait...this is-” She mumbled, her voice raspy. _KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_ “Dang it.” She groaned, hopping off her desk to open the door but once her hand extended for the knob, the door slammed open, sending Kid to jolt back. Standing at least a couple feet taller than her, was her boss- Detective Snatcher. He was a deep violet-black and he had what only people could compare to a lion’s mane for hair. His smile was always big and golden, just like his sarcastic humor. “Morning, kiddo! Ready for a new set of cases?” He asked, not even waiting for her to brush herself off from being spooked to the floor. “Good! We’ve got a robbery down by Mafira Street and you’re the perfect goon- i mean, kid for the case!” He said, slithering by Kid’s side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

His companion quickly met her eyes with his hollow golden ones. "Oh come on! You always pair me with the robberies-and the psycho-exes- and the 'kid ran into the street and was nearly hit by a car but i want this child arrested' people!" Snatcher rose his eyebrows before lowering them in a second. "Really? Last time I checked you said you weren't gonna complain about this for the...what is it, fifteenth time?!" He asked, having his voice low enough but still a bit angry in tone. Kid rubbed the back of her head, messing with her hair before stammering to reply. "W-well, yeah but I've been assigned to the lazy roles! When will I get a really cold case?" She asked, her eyelashes fluttering as to warm him up but he slid away from her. "First off, a cold case is a dead case. Second off, you're not getting a homicide until you can prove you're up for it." With that, the child's warm energy sunk, looking away from her boss with a soft rub on her own arm. The ghost sighed heavily as he crossed his arms. "Look. Due to the lousy paper I signed when I got this job, you're still my responsibility." Nothing but silence between them. "....God, kid. You're not gonna let this go 'til I get you one, huh?" He asked, running his claws through the fluff of his hair while glaring down at the child; she still made no effort to even look at him. "...If you do all this work today without complainin', I'll run the idea to my boss." That was the first noise that Kid made in a while as she went to hug Snatcher. His tail was being coiled by the embrace of her arms, having him roll his eyes in irritation. “But, you might wanna look...ya’ know, _presentable_. You look like a train hit ya’.” He said before moving back to the door frame and shutting the door, loudly but not slamming for once. The brunette’s eyes twitched with pure child-like joy. She huffed out a confident smile and started looking under her desk for her hairbrush.

 

   Mafira Street was always one of those street crossings where you’d be surprised if there was no crime going on. Passing everyone by, Kid didn’t have the time to look up at what time of day it was as everyone seemed to tower her so easily; it’s not easy being a kid in this era. With a shove and push, she finally got to her victim. The man stood quite tall and had his arms crossed with a glare in his pupil-less eyes. He wore a black blazer with a tie and the shine on his shoes was so bright that Kid could see her reflection in it. As the Detective opened her mouth, though, he ever so rudely interrupted by shouting at her, bending down to meet her eyes with his. “What took you so long? I could have been robbed again just standing here!” He exclaimed, holding his head high. Kid frowned, knowing that today was going to be a _long_ day.


	2. Ain't Misbehavin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long, tiring day for Hat Kid and it only gets worse when some hooded kid steals her hat! Well, she's got to go and arrest the caper, right?

The evening sky was always so lovely with its hints of faint purples and blues. Pinks and yellows clashed in the most beautiful of ways and it truly made Kid stand and watch as the sun set. She leaned against an old cafe, listening to the small bell above the door ring every time another shadowed face walked in and out of the small dinery. Mumbles of voices mixed within each other and it was made of nothing but passer-bys. It was like the town was getting bigger with every new man, woman and child- working, playing and living on this coasted planet that they all decided to call home. The small curve on Kid's lips and the drooping in her eyelids was a sign of her nostalgia overwhelming. She recalled it; the sound of her running through the streets, playing with her friends, nearly getting run over by some hoity-toity car and making faces at them until they threatened to tell their parents. While she watched, a small gust of wind picked up and with it, it picked up some of the debris on the sidewalk. A small bit of dirt flew into Kid's direction, making her cough and rub her eyes vigorously. Once she blinked multiple times, she had noticed the top of her head felt... lighter than before. The child went to look for it up in the sky before making her eyes over to a small whistle in the opposite direction. Standing a little more than her own height was another child, twirling the brim of the hat around her finger. The girl had tilted her head over to the detective, making the medium lengths of her fair blonde hair droop to the side. "Looking for this, detective?" She asked, her accent already being a reminder to the familiar face. "Eliza?" Kid asked, standing up as to slowly walk over to her but once she took a step closer, the new girl ran off to have Kid only follow.

 

There was nothing more but the sound of huffs and her own heartbeat to slow the child down. With every left, the girl went right; with every right, the girl went left! It was a pain and Kid knew it but she never stopped. The faces that wouldn't even spare a glance to her now seemed to swear or tell her to "Watch it!" Up and through the staircases, leaping from trash bin to street car, Kid knew that the thief had to be getting tired and surely enough, she was. With a turn into a dark-end alleyway, it seemed that the set of blonde ponytails that she saw before had disappeared into the blank black. Kid's chest rose and fell with great exhaustion, huffing and wheezing at what she couldn't see in the depths. Oh, how she wanted to jump in there and find that girl once more but was it worth it? The moment Kid turned a heel and started to walk away, she heard a call. "What? Are you seriously giving up?" The blonde asked, the slightest irritation in her voice. "You must not even want this hat back!" Her accent spiked, raising her voice to get the attention of the girl she seemed to weaken with just a run. "Oh, I do. I just wanted to do THIS!" Kid growled, turning and running at the thief, tackling her in a puddle of leftover rainwater. "G-gah! I-is this really what you do when you see old friends, June?!" Wrapping her fingers along the collar of Kid's suit, she watched as that name certainly had an effect on her. Kid's eyes seemed to have locked on hers, the pupil softly shaking as she seemed to recall the name. "So it is you." The british girl smiled, her brows furrowed with a sense of gain. "What are you doing in the detective get-up? Little early for the costume parade." She teased. Kid squinted and let her friend go, loosening the grip around her hood and watching her fall back into the puddle. "H-HEY!' She shouted. Kid brushed off her hands and held out one. "Eliza. _My hat_." She said, having nothing more but a watchful eye on where her hands moved. "Fine, fine. But I still want an answer!" She said, handing her..something wet and flat but nonetheless, her hat. Heaving a groan, she tossed the hat in a nearby bin. "Thanks for wasting my time and my hat." Kid retorted, her nose scrunched and brows deepened. "Oh, grow up! It's just a hat! Plus, I've never seen you without some sort of cap on your head so it was my reporting duty!" Eliza bravely said, standing up and having the muck water run down her legs and into her shoes. "G-gah! Damn." She swore. Kid's disappointment ran off her face when she looked to the sun to see if it was still high enough to catch the final moments of the sunset and only saw the streetlights on, illuminating the dark blue night. An unaudible sigh left Kid's mouth as she frowned, slowly walking out of the alley. "H-hey wait! You never told me what the costume's for?!" Eliza yelled, not even catching a passing glance from her "friend".

 

Her heels hit the pavement and dragged the shine, keeping her head down and her hands in her pant-pockets. "Is this really what you do when you see old friends, JUNE?" The words seemed to loop in her head like a broken record. "What's with the detective get-up?" Over and over, it never seemed to end. She stopped at a lamppost, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The city's people were normally active around the big hits of the city but never a cross street to Mafira. "You turned into such a high hat, Kid." She mumbled to herself, batting her eyes to look back up to the sky. "A real ragamuffin." As she talked to herself, she seemed to relive the discussion she last had with her pal, Eliza. It was an afternoon brunch with her and Bow. They were just talking about the shakes at the newest casino, Dead Bird and the topic changed to work. "Well, I've already got a job! Meet the newest reporter for the Ritz Paper!" Eliza proudly displayed, tossing a small card onto the table for the other girls to see. "Whoa! Imagine that, Miss Broker with a job already." Bow teased to which Eliza stuck her tongue out. "It wasn't easy! It took a lot of stealing to get that card!" The group went silent before busting into laughter. "Alright, what about you Bow? What's your big dream job?" Kid asked, smiling. "Oh my, well I haven't even started lookin'! I was hoping to be a waitress!" The two others turned their head in unison. "Waitress??" They asked together as Bow nodded. "It's been a dream of mine to work in a kitchen! That's the first start to one, like my granny says!" Eliza turned her attention to Kid very quickly. "And you? What's your job gonna be?" 

 

Snapping out of her dream-like state as she heard a car alarm go off, looking around dashing her eyes around, she saw a masked figure jumping into a car. "Torpedos." she frowned, running across the street to stop them.


End file.
